Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Tom Eppes, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, CETA; Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, CETA; and Harini Patlolla,
electrical engineering graduate student, presented a research paper at
the COMSOL Conference, which took place earlier this month in Newton,
Mass.
The annual conference features peer-reviewed work in the area of multiphysics modeling and simulations.
The paper, "Early Stage Melt Ejection in Laser Percussion Drilling,"
describes a percussion laser drilling model during the early stage of
melt formation and ejection. The target material is iron with
temperature dependent material properties that are used to model the
phase transitions. Velocity and temperature fields above and within the
target metal are discussed. The size and shape of the vapor and melt
fronts during the drilling process are revealed with a particle trace
analysis.

Four CETA engineering students attended the annual COMSOL conference in Newton, Mass., from Oct. 3-5. On hand were Harini Patlolla and Aneela Naz, both master’s candidates in electrical engineering, as well as Annie Becerra, a senior electrical engineering major, and Karen Brzostowski, a junior in mechanical engineering. Accompanying the students was Tom A. Eppes, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The conference features peer-reviewed work in the area of
multiphysics modeling and simulations and consists of keynote addresses,
user presentations and minicourses.

Patlolla presented a paper
titled "Early Stage Melt Ejection in Laser Percussion Drilling,"
co-authored with Eppes and Milanovic. The four students, along with Stacey Dufrane,
a junior in mechanical engineering, have been working on research
projects in laser drilling, electronic heat sink trade-offs, and
conformal patch antenna design funded by a grant from WELFund.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Clara Fang, associate professor of civil and
environmental engineering, CETA, recently served as the editor-in-chief
for the Proceedings of the 12th COTA International Conference of
Transportation Professionals (CICTP 2012): Convenient, Safe, Cost-Effective and Efficient Multimodal Transportation Systems, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The cover of the conference proceedings on multimodal transportation systems, for which Fang served as editor-in-chief.

The co-editors of the proceedings include Heng Wei, associate
professor at the University of Cincinnati; and Yunpeng Wang and Jun
Zhang, professors at Beihang University in Beijing, China. The
conference proceedings are indexed via the EI Compendia, one of the most
comprehensive engineering literature databases available to engineers.

As
the editor-in-chief, Fang led and organized a rigorous two-stage
(abstract and full-text paper) technical review and editing process. The
CICTP 2012 received a large number of high-quality technical
contributions. Among the nearly 900 abstract submissions, a total of 369
papers were finally accepted for publication in the proceedings. The
conference papers address a wide range of topics in 11 areas, including
transportation planning, intelligent transportation systems, public
transportation, air transportation, railway, logistics and freight
transportation, safety and emergence response, energy saving and
environmental protection. It is expected that research and studies
gathered in these proceedings will contribute to future needs of a
multimodal transportation system, and help to advance transportation
sustainability, energy independence, economic vitality, and quality of
life.

The CICTP 2012, held in Beijing, China, from August 3-6,
2012, attracted more than 1,000 participants internationally from
countries and regions including mainland China, the United States,
Taiwan, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Egypt and Iran. Fang also
served as the chair of the Conference Executive & Organizing
Committee to lead the development of nearly 30 conference sessions
including plenary, invited, technical, and forums. These talks addressed
current practice and state-of-the-art transportation topics of interest
to professionals from government, industry, and academic institutions.

Abby Ilumoka, professor of electrical and computer
engineering, CETA, will be working with the Connecticut General Assembly
to conduct a disparity study to determine whether the state’s set-aside
program achieves the goal of facilitating participation in state
contracts of small contractors and minority business enterprises.
Ilumoka is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and
Engineering, the organization under contract with the state to conduct
the study.See a list of members of the Connecticut Disparity Study Committee.

Audio Engineering Society (AES)
Conventions occur bi-annually, once in the US and once in Europe. Professionals
and students from around the world gather for a diverse technical program of
workshops, presentations, and student competitions, accompanied by the
industry's largest trade show. AES Conventions are the organization's largest
summits, offering enlightening sessions and invaluable networking
opportunities.

At the 131st Convention in New York last
fall, I was elected Vice Chair of the AES Student Delegate Assembly (SDA) for
North and Latin America after serving as President of our student chapter for
two years. The new position is a two-year commitment that includes planning and
facilitating student events at the US and international conventions.

The five months leading up to AES 132
Budapest consisted of weekly Skype conference calls, periodic blogging, and
other tasks delegated by the European Chair of the SDA and our advisor, the
Chair of the AES Education Committee. There was a lot of prep work to be done,
and I found myself using skills learned in audio classes to prepare promotional
materials and knowledge gained in english classes to revise and edit the
official rules for the Student Recording Competition. I had to do some
research, too; I had never booked a flight, dealt with foreign currency, or
used any language other than English to buy food or check into a hotel!

The Convention, held on April 26-29, was
extremely successful. All of our events went swimmingly, and we saw a huge
turnout of students from England, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Serbia,
Sweden and more. I was given chances to speak at multiple meetings, had an
active role in the playback of student projects during the Recording
Competition finals, and spoke with prospective scholars while manning the
University of Hartford display at the Education and Career Fair. The most
stressful part may have been the last-minute planning of the Student Party,
which followed my proposal to have the students pitch-in for a boat tour on the
Danube River. With some help from our volunteers, we were able to turn a long
shot into a reality, and enjoyed magnificent views while bumping shoulders with
top record mastering engineers and AES VPs.

I learned that when you travel abroad,
you have to leave your comfort zone and depend on things like maps and phrase
books; simple tasks like walking to the corner store become bold acts of
courage. Once I overcame my initial worries, I was blown away by a beautiful
city. Everything about the trip was spectacular -- the plane rides, the
monuments, the hilltop views of the city, the Hungarian Goulash soup, the
sunset cruise, meeting students from around the world, and taking an active
roll in a global community.

Trips like mine may seem like rare
opportunities, but they start with getting involved on-campus. The University
provides a myriad of clubs and organizations that can really take you places.
The AES has done wonders for my professional development, and I strongly
encourage other CETA students to join the engineering societies.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Fourth-year architecture student Andre Stiles
will present a lecture on his recent foreign studies experience in
Italy, and how it has broadened him and his perspective on architecture.
The lecture will take place on Monday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m. in Wilde Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to park in visitor lots K and D.
The Architecture Lecture Series is made possible through the JCJ
Architecture endowment of the Department of Architecture at the
University of Hartford.

CT Space Grant endeavors to support diverse projects, in all
areas of interest to NASA. These areas may include, but are not limited
to, research related to aeronautics/aerospace, STEM, and STEM education.

Applications will be accepted until 2:00pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012.
More information can be found at www.ctspacegrant.org,
Please note: Space Grant award recipients must be US
citizens.”

Thursday, October 11, 2012

In 2013, the Udall Foundation
expects to award 50 scholarships of up to $5,000 and 50 honorable
mentions to sophomore and junior level college students committed to
careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care.
Scholarships are offered in any of three categories:

• To students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to the environment, including
policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal,
business, health, justice, economics, and other related fields; or

• To Native American and Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to tribal public policy,
including fields related to tribal sovereignty, tribal governance,
tribal law, Native American education, Native American justice, natural
resource management, cultural preservation and revitalization, Native
American economic development, and other areas affecting Native American
communities; or

• To Native American and Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to Native health care, including
health care administration, social work, medicine, dentistry,
counseling, and research into health conditions affecting Native
American communities, and other related fields.

In an effort to improve the College of
Engineering, Technology and Architecture, associate professor Tom Eppes
along with professor of mechanical engineering Ivana Milanovic recently
published an article outlining liberal arts skills that need to be
assessed in CETA students.
Spurred by a committee headed by Assistant Provost and Dean of
Faculty Development, H. Frederick Sweitzer, and represented by people
from all the colleges of the University, the article was published in
the “Journal of College Teaching and Learning” earlier this year.
The committee decided which skill to tackle first and then found a way to measure those skills.
They first focused on writing skills throughout the University and
launched pilots to get results and find out what faculty thought.
The article, titled “Towards Liberal Education Assessment in
Engineering and Technology Programs” outlines a plan to meet the new
accreditation requirements set by New England Association of Schools and
Colleges (NEASC).
One of the CETA programs is also up for their accreditation this year
by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
“The paper describes the overall motivation beginning with NEASC to
what’s been done by other educational institutions to try and create
some groundwork for doing a better job of assessing liberal education
skills to focusing on curriculum in CETA and ending with some pilot
results that demonstrate our application of this,” Eppes said.
The three main liberal skills looked at included critical thinking, problem solving and creativity.
“We wanted to find the right tool to come up with a good estimate of
what level achievement resides,” Eppes said. “We do not currently
perform critical thinking assessments on graduates.”
Eppes and Milanovic found the easiest way to assess these key liberal
education skills in CETA students being the senior capstone class.
The class, which is a culmination of everything students have done in
their four years at the University, includes working in teams, varied
assignments and doing original work.
The class also already has a built in interview and debrief period
with students which proved crucial to Eppes and Milanovic’s work.
“We found it a pretty convenient mechanism available to us without
much additional work,” Eppes said. “As engineers, we focus on the
technical component of students’ designs.”
“We’re fascinated by engineering elements,” Eppes went on to add.
“This effort allows us to get to see other skills that make students
more or less successful in capstone.
“The ability to discover one’s critical thinking level, problem
solving and creativity as a standalone skill is something we had not
been doing and those are important in capstone success and once they
graduate in industry or advanced degrees.”
These core skills: critical thinking, problem solving and creativity
are essential to work in a complex and technical environment.
From here, the plan is to take the study to its next level by
incorporating a higher level of critical thinking skills on a University
level.